What God promised David

7 After King David began to live in his palace, Yahweh protected him from all his enemies. 2 One day he said to the prophet Nathan, “It is not right that I am here, living in a beautiful house made of cedar wood, but the chest that contains God’s Ten Commandments is kept in a tent!”

3 Then Nathan said to the king, “Yahweh is helping/directing you, so do regarding that chest whatever you are thinking.”

4 But that night, Yahweh said to Nathan,

5 “Go and tell my servant, David, that this is what I, Yahweh, am saying to him: ‘You are not the one [RHQ] who should build a temple for me to live in. 6 I have not lived in any building from the day that I brought the Israeli people up from Egypt until now. Instead, I have been living in a tent, moving from one place to another when the Israelis moved to other places. 7 Wherever I went with all the Israelis as they traveled, I never said [RHQ] to any of their leaders whom I appointed to lead them, “Why have you not built me a temple made of cedar wood?”’

8 So this is what you should say to my servant David: ‘The Almighty Commander of the armies of angels says that he took you from a pasture where you were taking care of sheep, and appointed you to become the ruler of my Israeli people. 9 I have ◄been with/helped► you wherever you have gone. I have gotten rid of all your enemies as you advanced. I will enable you to become very famous, as well-known as the names of all the greatest men who have ever lived on the earth. 10-11 10-11Formerly, during the time that I appointed leaders for my Israeli people, many violent groups oppressed the Israelis. But this will not happen any more. I have chosen a place where my Israeli people can live peacefully and no one will disturb them any more. I will give them rest from being attacked by their enemies. And I will defeat all your enemies.

I declare to you that I, Yahweh, will enable your descendants to rule after you die. 12 When your life ends [EUP] and you go to be with your ancestors, I will appoint one of your sons to be king, and I will enable his kingdom to ◄be strong/resist all their enemies►. 13 He is the one who will arrange for a temple to be built for me [MTY], and I will cause his descendants to be kings [MTY] of Israel forever. 14 I will be like a father to him, and it will be as though he is a son to me [MET]. When he does something that is wrong, I will punish him as fathers punish their sons. 15 But I will not stop faithfully loving him as I stopped loving Saul, whom I removed from being king before you became king. 16 Your descendants will rule the kingdom of Israel forever. Their rule will never end. [DOU]’ ”

17 So Nathan told David everything that Yahweh had told him.